This year marks 30 years since Mortgage Brain first introduced mortgage software to an unsuspecting industry.
Much has changed since then. M-Day in 2004, electronic trading and the Mortgage Market Review (MMR) in 2014 have all helped transformed an industry that wasn't always the most welcoming when it came to embracing new technology or fresh ways of doing things.
This year's Mortgage Credit Directive (MCD) is making brokers change their habits again, and the ever-increasing power of the consumer is also putting pressure on the industry to stay one step ahead.
So where does mortgage technology go next and will the industry take the changes to its heart or sulk in the corner?
Where once those wanting a mortgage had to wait three weeks for an answer, now it comes through in minutes.
Where once the only way to compare mortgages was to sit in front of a broker, now consumers use apps, social media and sourcing tools on broker websites.
Consumers can do it on the go, through their iPad or tablet. They can download reams of data at the touch of a button, and share their thoughts through texts, Twitter and Facebook.
Most of the big leaps forward in mortgage technology have come about not because the industry has demanded them, but because they have been demanded of the industry.
M-Day was the catalyst for the biggest single shake-up in the history of mortgage technology. The MMR was not far behind and the MCD is forcing further change.
It is not just the regulators who are driving this. Consumers are used to having everything now, if not sooner, and any industry which sells to the public has to adapt to survive.
Ever higher levels of speed, interaction and adaptability are the key to success.
For example, device independent technology, which can be accessed anywhere via a web browser, is fast becoming a broker's most useful tool.
So where is technology going next? The answer is wherever the rest of the world and the regulators decide it should.
